The Tale of Matthias Etanne
by Celestial Chaos
Summary: Follow the tale of Matthias Etanne, a young Breton mage, as he steps out into the world and joins the esteemed branch of the Cyrodiil Mages Guild, and journeys through a world where he experiences much more than he originally bargained for. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: So it seems like is just going to take a bit more work to get used to! But I'm willing to do that, if it means getting my stuff out to people who would be interested in reading it. Basically, this story was the spawn of me playing Oblivion. Matthias is not actually my character, although I do mention mine later on in the story. If you catch it, that'd be awesome. Mwahah. But yeah! I can't really give away much; please just read my story and review it, if you feel inclined. That'd be great! (Also, I don't own any of the characters herein, except for Matthias Etanne and his father.)

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"Again. With feeling." 

Standing stiffly, I stared at my father with a somewhat disdainful look on my face. Nonetheless, I did as he asked. Sticking my hand out in front of me, I focused with all of my might, using the annoyance that I was feeling as a means of strengthening my power. In the palm of my hand I could feel a warm sensation, and my fingers began to curl around it. Just a moment later, the warm sensation became hotter, and just when it felt like it was going to burn my hand, I expelled it, and it flew toward the stump in front of me. The stump barely caught aflame.

"Well," my father said, "that's better than the time before. We're getting there." He rubbed his hands together and stepped forward to place a hand on my shoulder. "You've got it in you, Matthias. It may take a while to get there, but you've got it in you. We Bretons aren't said to have an affinity to magicka for nothing."

I only nodded. Destruction magic had always been difficult for me, though I was never quite sure why. Perhaps it was because neither of my parents had been particularly adept at it. My father, Francois, had always been better with things alchemical, and my mother Anya, Mara rest her soul, was considerably better with everything related to healing magic.

The two of them met in Anvil when my father, who had traveled from High Rock to Cyrodiil, stayed at The Flowing Bowl, where my mother was working as a waitress at the time. My father had come to Cyrodiil after having sold everything he received from his parents' passing in order to start anew in the land of the Imperials. He hadn't expected to meet his wife on his one-night stay in the city, but we all know that things happen whether we want them to or not. Though he had originally intended to travel to the Imperial City and move into one of the vacant houses in the Elven Gardens district, his plans were delayed a good amount as he courted my mother. It wasn't until the two of them married that the move was finalized.

It's been my father and I for some years now. My mother, though talented as she was with Restoration magic, had not been able to heal herself when she went out to collect several of the local plants on the road near the Chestnut Handy Stables and was ambushed by a highwayman. It happened too far from the stables for her to be saved in time. That was when I was ten.

Now, at twenty, it was my goal to be admitted into one of the local chapters of the Mages Guild. I had always had an affinity to magic. My father always attributed that to my being a Breton, like him and my mother. On some level, I thought that it might be something more. I wasn't born under any of the signs of the Mage, after all, so I didn't have as deep of a well as either of them did. No, I was an oddball, born in Second Seed, and granted with an apparent power that I wasn't even fully capable of accessing just yet. The only thing that I seemed capable of doing was Conjuration magic.

But my father didn't know that. In my off time, I would often travel to the Market District and do odd jobs for some of the merchants in return for a few drakes here and there. There was a book at The First Edition that I had my eyes on for quite some time, called The Doors to Oblivion. Just in reading it, I felt smarter, more learned. Not too long thereafter, I found myself able to call upon some of the creatures from Oblivion. In the safety and quietness of my room, I was able to conjure a skeleton and a scamp. The magic binding didn't last very long at first, and neither stayed corporeal for more than a few seconds. But with practice, I eventually became able to summon them for about a minute. I even managed to summon the skeleton with basic weapons, like a long sword or an axe. Those were some of the prouder moments of my life.

…Unlike this one, where I couldn't even seem to grasp the concept of an intermediate level fireball. My father didn't seem disappointed, more confused. And, while he knew that it was my intent to eventually travel to one of the nearby cities and try to join the Mages Guild, he wasn't aware of the fact that I intended to do it soon.

"Father," I called out as he turned to head back inside. When he stopped and turned, I found my throat dry. It was now or never, I told myself. "I…"

"Yes?"

"By the end of the week," I began carefully, "I want to go to Chorrol and see if I can get into the Mages Guild."

There was a look on his face that seemed almost…bracing. Yet, at the same time, accepting. He glanced down for a brief moment. When he looked back up at me, he had a small smile on his face. "I was wondering when this day would come. I've been preparing for it."

That caught me off guard. "How so?" I asked, curiously.

"Come inside, and I'll show you."

I followed my father into the house, and he told me to take a seat at the table in the middle of the room. He stepped toward a locked cupboard near the basement entrance, and after a wave of his hand, the lock was undone. He pulled the doors apart to reveal many different things, though from what I could see, it was mostly alchemical apparatuses. My father turned back around a moment later with a bag in his hand, as well as what looked like a book. He set them on the table.

"When you told me that you wanted to join the Mages Guild, I started putting away a little bit of money with each and every potion that I was able to sell. I had to dip into it once or twice during the more difficult times, but here you should find enough to get you to Chorrol, get you some food, and some good clothes." Before I could speak, he continued, "And this book…" He ran his potion-stained fingers over the dusty cover. "It's an alchemical book of mine, filled with all of the recipes for every potion that I've ever made. I've gone through and marked them with levels of difficulty, and what you need in order to get the best out of each. Alchemical apparatuses don't come cheap; otherwise I would gladly give you mine. But this…this should serve you well. Make good use of it."

Once I was sure that he was finished talking, I thanked him. I even hugged him. Upon pulling back I looked at the bag of septims and the book. This was it. By this time next week, I was going to be in Chorrol, hopefully as a part of the Mages Guild.

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Standing outside of my house, I stared upward. The sun was low in the sky, and there were few clouds. Midyear was always the nicest month out of the year for me: warm, but with a breeze that kept it from getting too hot. And rain, while rare, was equally warm and inviting.

I returned my gaze to the front of my house, where my father was standing. "Time for me to go," I said with a small smile.

"That it is. Write me when you get to Chorrol, and let me know how everything goes." He stuck his hand out, which I shook. But then I brought him into another hug.

"Thank you."

"Do me proud."

I nodded firmly. I intended to do just that.

"Good bye."

"Good bye."

As I turned on my heel, it felt like the weight of the world had suddenly been lifted from my shoulders. My future was ahead of me, and I couldn't have been happier. Granted, I really didn't have much on me, but I think that that was part of the reason why I was so content. Starting out my journey from basic scratch would give me a feeling of accomplishment. I may have not been prepared to the fullest as some people might have been, but I had enough. That was all that I could ask for.

I began my trek to Chorrol on the path just beyond the Wawnet Inn. I stocked up on a few different foods, like fruits and grains, just in case that I had to stop along the way. I decided to leave early in the morning, because I knew that, at a leisurely pace, I would arrive in Chorrol in several hours. The only time I had ever left the Imperial City was going with my father on a trip to Lewayiin when I was young. I don't remember it well.

The path through the Great Forest was nice and clear, void of any creatures that my father had warned me about. I did, however, notice several different plant specimens. Watching my father work with his potions and apparatuses did lend me decent knowledge of some of the more common growths. I gathered a couple Steel-Blue Entoloma Caps, as well as a few drops of St. Jahn's Wart Nectar. A bit further up the road I was able to find myself some Somnalius Frond, as well. Things were looking to be quite nice.

Somewhat fatigued, I decided to take a break near a rundown fort. It had ivy root overgrowth all over, and looked to be positively abandoned. There was a breeze in the air that caused some of the dirt on the road beneath me to swirl around my feet. This was nice, I thought. Not very worrisome at all.

That is, until I heard rustling nearby. My ears perked up, and I glanced around me. Nothing in sight just yet. Carefully, I laid my bag of ingredients on the rock I was sitting on, then moved to stand. While I may have not been able to master the intermediate fireball, I was still able to conjure an aid from the lands of Oblivion to help me. I focused very intently on the image in my head, stuck my hand out in front of me and clenched my hand into a fist. Soon I heard the nasty cracking sound of the skeleton forming, and when I opened my eyes, it stood in front of me, wielding an axe.

I heard the rustling sound again. Quickly, I turned to the right. Some of the bushes near the fort began to move. Almost immediately, my skeleton companion stalked over to them and began hacking away. I heard the sounds of a beast crying out in pain. A wolf emerged, and it was coming right at me. The axe had only managed to cut into its tail, I noticed. What would be best against it, I wondered? I had no weapon, other than my small list of known spells, of which only two or three were offensive.

There wasn't much time to think. The wolf was closing in on me, and so I stuck my hand out in front of me, casting a low energy shock spell in hopes of deterring it. The wolf yelped, stopping for just a moment. This gave my skeleton the chance to catch up, and it whacked the wolf right on the back with its axe. The creature fell to the ground with another yelp, lifeless. Soon thereafter, my skeleton began to decorporealize. It was gone.

My first real fight. It wasn't anything epic, but it sure as hell was a memorable event nonetheless.

Returning to the rock, I gathered up my ingredients bag and continued on my trek to Chorrol. By the time I reached the Weynon Priory, where I had heard the Champion of Cyrodiil, Faramel the Altmer, had started out his journey, I knew that I was close.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later I was standing at the gate of Chorrol, with the majestic oak tree—the symbol of the town—carved into the giant wooden doors. The sight was something to behold, that was for sure.

"Good afternoon," I said to the guard standing by. The guard only offered me a nod in greeting before he opened the gate. Inside me was a wave of different emotions. I was tired, first and foremost, from such a long journey. Walking for hours did tend to fatigue one. But at the same time, there was an excitement in me that I could feel coursing through my body. It rejuvenated my tired muscles, giving me the energy to keep on walking.

As I had absolutely no idea where I was going, I figured that heading to the Northern Goods and Trade store just a few meters away was probably a good idea. There, I could purchase a guide to the city, and be told my way to the Mages Guild.

I stepped into the store, half expecting it to be run by an Imperial, given the name. To my surprise it was run by an Argonian named Seed-Neeus. She was dressed in dapper clothes, which led me to think that her business was relatively successful.

"Excuse me," I said, "but do you have a guide to Chorrol? I'm new in town and I'm looking to get familiar with it."

"Of course!" The Argonian woman stepped toward a bookshelf nearby, thumbed through some of the text on it, then pulled out a relatively thin, hardback book that had 'Guide to Chorrol' written on the front of it in fancy writing. She handed it to me. "Anything else that I can help you find today?"

I smiled at her hospitality. "Actually, yes. I was looking for the Mages Guild. Where can I find it?"

Seed-Neeus pointed down the stairs at the door. "When you leave here, turn left, and then left again, and follow the path up from the statue in the middle of the road. You'll come to a circle of buildings, with a tree in the middle. The Mages Guild will have an oval-shaped sign hanging over their entrance."

"Thank you." I pulled out the money and paid her, even giving her an extra drake for being so nice. I probably needed to save it, seeing as I didn't have all that many. Whatever the case, if I was going to be spending time in this city, I figured it was best to get off on the right foot with people. Seed-Neeus offered me a smile as I left.

I followed her directions and took two lefts, and then wandered up the road to the circle of buildings. The Mages Guild was right where she said it was. I could feel that tired feeling being overwhelmed by the excited, anticipatory one yet again. My aching muscles objected to me pushing them to their limit, but I ignored that. Instead I focused on the shaking feeling inside of me. Eighteen years had led me to this. I could do it. I knew I could.

Slowly, carefully, I placed my somewhat unsteady hand on the handle and pulled the door open.

My sense of anticipation did not disappear when I stepped into the Mages Guild. If anything, it only increased, as did my feeling of nervousness. I didn't know who to speak to. There were several people around, all going about their business. There were two elves speaking near a table on the north end of the room, while an Argonian read at a table not too far from me. It was actually a male Breton, older than myself, that came to speak to me. It must have been obvious by the look upon my face that I was both in awe and confused.

"Hello there," he said jovially. "I'm Alberic Litte, advanced Conjuration trainer and spell seller here at the Chorrol Mages Guild. Are you looking for someone? I'm afraid I don't recognize you!"

A very faint blush of color filled my cheeks. Why, though, I wasn't sure. Perhaps mild embarrassment for something or another. "My name's Matthias Etanne. I'm a Breton from the Imperial City." I looked down for a moment. "I've come to join the Mages Guild."

"Oh! Well, you'll need to speak to Teekeus, here. He's our head here. Teekeus!" Alberic called over to the Argonian sitting at the table nearby, who stood and joined us afterward. Alberic looked at me and rubbed his hands together. "This young man here would like to join us here in the guild."

"Thank you, Alberic," Teekeus said.

Like all of the individuals in the room, he was wearing fine mage's robes. I felt a twang of slight envy. Soon, though, I would hopefully be wearing them too.

Teekeus gestured for me to take a seat at the table where he had been reading. As I did so, I carefully laid my ingredients bag on the floor beside me, so as not to squish my phials of nectar, or the caps of my Steel-Blue Entoloma.

"So, you're interested in joining the Mages Guild?"

"Yes," I said. "Very much so. I've come from the Imperial City, the Elven Gardens District. My name is Matthias Etanne."

"Very well, Matthias." Teekeus proceeded to explain to me what was required of an individual who joined the Mages Guild, as well as the benefits. By the time he finished talking, I could hardly contain my excitement. "Does this sound appealing to you?" he asked me.

I agreed with a very firm nod. "Yes, sir. I'm very interested. I would very much appreciate it if you allowed me to join."

"Then it is settled. You are now a member of the Mages Guild." Teekeus smiled in that strange, almost scary way that Argonians smiled, and proceded to hand me an interestingly shaped key. I took it gratefully. "This key will allow you entry to the upper levels of the Mages Guild here, as well in all of the other cities. However, you will not be permitted entry to the Arcane University until you have gathered a recommendation from each head of each branch of the Mages Guild in Cyrodiil. Gaining entry to the Arcane University is something that is highly regarded by Arch-Mage Traven, and he doesn't allow just anyone to walk through its doors."

I nodded once more. "I understand." At this point and time, I wasn't terribly interested in doing that just yet. The Arcane University would be a goal after I had had the chance to get accustomed to the city of Chorrol. "I'll keep that in mind. For now, though, I think that I'm going to rest. It was a long walk from the Imperial City. If you'll excuse me." Once I stood, I bowed again, just out of politeness.

Teekeus chuckled. "You do not have to bow, Matthias. We are all friends here."

That made me smile. "All right."

And, with that, I went up the stairs, using the key that would unlock more of my future for me.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Still don't own anyone but Matthias and his dad. Don't forget to review :D Also, there's a potion in here that I mentioned by ingredient that I love using in my own game. If you haven't mixed those ingredients before, you should. It's a very good poison.

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The day after I joined the Mages Guild, my understanding and grasp of each and every class of magic was tested. As it turned out, because of my background, I was already considered for the journeyman level in the schools of Alchemy, Restoration and Conjuration. Because of the work with my father, I was somewhere around the level of Apprentice for my Destruction abilities, while my abilities with Alteration, Illusion and Mysticism weren't even considered that. But, I wasn't expecting miracles—I wasn't exposed to those types of magic very often, and what I knew wasn't really enough to be considered spectacular. 

Not that it was much of a worry. After all, I was there to learn. And that was exactly what I did. Under the watchful eye of my fellow guild mates, I honed my magic skills through reading books and practicing spells. As time passed, I wrote to my father and kept him updated on what I was doing. Life remained the same for him from what I was told in response, which didn't surprise me. My father had never been one for change, especially when things were going well as they were.

By the end of Sun's Height, I had been in the Mages Guild for an entire month. Time did seem to fly by. I had learned a couple more summoning spells, such as how to bound a bow, axe and mace, as well as conjure up a Flame Atronach and a Dremora. It was difficult at first, but after time, it became just as easy as summoning the skeleton. It was amazing how much I had learned over the course of a month.

On the first day of Last Seed, I finally decided that it was time for me to try to get into the Arcane University. I spoke with Teekeus about what it was that was required of me. I was to get information as to why an excommunicated mage, Earana, was hanging around town.

She was standing outside the Mages Guild near the large tree, speaking with another high elf about nothing in particular. It took a few convincing words to make her tell me that she was intending to retrieve a book, called Fingers of the Mountain. The way she made it sound, it seemed fishy. I spoke to Teekeus about it and was told that I needed to bring the book to him, no questions asked. Seeing as he hadn't ever steered me wrong before, I didn't think much of it.

Still, this was the first time since my arriving in Chorrol that I had to actually leave the city. I had become accustomed to pretty much staying in the Mages Guild, and being back out in the world was…almost weird, in a way. The sun was high in the cloudless sky, and there was no nice breeze to keep the heat from being too much. I packed a few potions to restore my fatigue and health, just in the case that something decided to pop out. There had been reports of attacks on the road, and there had been more than one or two individuals who had come into the town sporting wounds from wild wolves and imps.

The trip to Cloud Top, where the book was apparently located, was tiring. It would have probably been in my better interests to not have worn robes, because they only made it hotter. A potion of fire resistance might have been helpful, but there was no lettuce for me to use with the cheese wedge that I had. It was always interesting to think of the things that one could create with common, every day things.

I reached Cloud Top sometime in the mid-afternoon. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but the charred body that was splayed on the ground in front of the broken pillar wasn't quite it. Something felt off. When I took the book from nearby the body, I slipped it into my bag and turned around, heading back to Chorrol.

Returning to the city was much nicer than the trip there. My legs hurt, but upon reentering the city, I drank one of my potions of fatigue and I could feel my body relaxing, as if I were sitting in a warm bath. Because I had entered through the gate near the Fighter's Guild building, I could see Earana there still, reading a book underneath the oak tree on one of the benches. She was bound to see me if I just _walked_ through there. There had to be some way to get by her without her seeing me.

I snapped my fingers. That was it! My birth sign, the Shadow…those born in the month of Second Seed were given the ability to turn invisible for about a minute. I knew about it, but because I rarely used it, I often forgot. I had only practiced it a few times, and although I knew that it worked, part of me was nervous to try it. Nonetheless, I focused on the thought of me turning invisible. For a moment, it felt like someone had cracked something on top of my head and a cool liquid was pouring over me. When I looked down at my hands, I could no longer see them.

It had worked. I was invisible.

Being such did help quite a bit in alleviating my nervousness. I walked through the archway by the Fighter's Guild and lightened my steps so that my footfall wasn't as loud and noticeable. People were _there_, but they couldn't _see_ me. Of course, I knew from texts that if I were to touch anything or try and use something that my invisibility would disappear. My only chance of not having it wear off was for someone to open the door to the guild for me. I didn't have much time, and my nervousness returned because of it. But thankfully, about the time I moved up the steps to the door, Alberic Litte's wife, Carmen, was coming out. I slipped in as she stepped out, and once inside, I reached into my bag to pull out the book. My invisibility wore off, but it was of no concern. I was home free.

A quick glance around the lower level told me that Teekeus must have been upstairs. I arrived back home around dinnertime, so that was to be expected. I went upstairs and saw that he was sitting there, along with Angalmo and Athragar.

"Ah, Matthias," Teekeus said, moving to stand as I shut the door. Once he was closer he asked, "Do you have the book?"

"Yes," I said. "Right here."

Teekeus took the book from me and grinned. "Excellent. Earana mustn't have this book. Thank you for bringing it to me instead of her. I'll be sure to write your recommendation once dinner is over. You have done well."

I felt pride swelling up inside of me. This had been a relatively easy task, if not a little bit tiring. I could only hope that the rest of them were like this. That meant, though, that I had to leave Chorrol again and venture around Cyrodiil to the other cities. That was a scary concept—I had only ever been to Leyawiin, which was something I barely remembered. I would have to travel to Anvil, Bravil, Bruma, Cheydinhal, Leyawiin, and Skingrad…six cities, six other recommendations. I could do this. I knew it.

"Thank you," I told Teekeus. I continued, shifting from one side to the other, "Sometime soon, I think that I'm going to go around to the other guildhalls and gather more recommendations."

"I expected such. The other guildhalls will welcome you warmly. I suggest traveling to Anvil first. I hear that Carahil is having some issues with some deaths occurring on the Gold Road."

Anvil. Where my parents met. I nodded, rubbing my hands together. "That sounds good. I'll travel there, then. Does it take long?"

Teekeus nodded. "If you follow along the roads, yes. A clear cut southward wouldn't be as bad, though you're more likely to run into beasts and things of the like, as you'd be traveling across the plains. Should you choose to do that, it would be best to take a long a number of potions. Feel free to take the apparatuses that you have been using for the time that you've been here, so that you can create more along the way if need be."

"Thank you. I'll gather those up after dinner, so that I can be prepared to leave in the morning."

"Come, then! Let's finish eating, and you can tell me about your trip to Cloud Top."

I laughed.

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In the month that came to pass, I worked hard to go around to the other guildhalls and complete that which was required of me to gather their recommendations. Perhaps one of the hardest was the one for Leyawiin, where I was to find a lost amulet of the guild head, Dagail. Gathering the information took work, but the worst part about it was traveling to a nearby fort, Fort Blueblood, in order to find the ring itself. I was ambushed by Kalthar, one of the mages that I had spoken to about it, and he almost made short work of me. But thanks to my faithful Dremora, I was able to get out of there with the amulet, and the recommendation.

I had seen a lot of things in doing these tasks for the guild heads…everything from a cave full of zombies to floating bodies in wells. I had been made to do things that I didn't even imagine possible. But then, it was anything for access to the Arcane University, I told myself. Everything had a purpose, and a reason.

It was nearing the end of Last Seed, and I was still in Cheydinhal, my last stop. Deetsan had been kind enough to write a recommendation for me in place of Falcar, who had mysteriously disappeared after sending me on the wild goose chase that was finding his ridiculous ring. I had never felt something put so much weight on me as that thing did. A powerful enchantment indeed, that had been. Thankfully, I didn't need to keep it. I couldn't imagine having to, anyways.

That morning, I decided that I was going to head back to the Imperial City, where the Arcane University was. It was hard for me to believe that in just a time span of about two months, I had come to the place that I was. I was living my dream.

After thanking Deetsan for having me at her guildhall and for the recommendation, I set off for the Imperial City. All of my traveling helped to hone my lesser-focused skills, particularly my physical ones. I could carry more weight, I found, and became less fatigued when walking long distances. I could even feel my magicka reserves returning to me faster after casting spells. This kind of accomplishment made me feel good about myself.

Upon my arrival to the Imperial City, I pondered whether or not I would visit my father first. I had sent him a letter while I was in Bruma, letting him know that I would be coming home sometime soon. He hadn't responded, or if he did, it didn't reach me. Then again, the Mages Guild was notorious for losing letters when one traveled…

Having left Cheydinhal relatively early in order to beat the heat, I arrived in the Imperial City a while afterwards, having to take the long way around. I passed the Wawnet Inn just as I had when I left the city. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, which I brushed away. I had only been gone for a few months, but it felt like much longer. There wasn't much to be nostalgic about, or at least I told myself as I wandered back into the Talos Plaza district. It was actually further to the Arcane University than to home, but because I had been waiting for this for a while, I decided to travel there first. I passed through the Temple district and the Arboretum, only to be met with a long bridge that led to the University. As I crossed the bridge, I could feel that same sort of nervousness and anticipation that I had felt numerous times before building inside of me. Who knew what was waiting there? I had heard so many stories from those who _could_ enter the University, from how amazing it was for alchemical supplies to the helpfulness of the lessons being taught by the scholars.

All of these stories couldn't compare to the intense feeling of awe that was inside of me when I saw the gates, the large tower, and the battlemages patrolling outside. It was funny that, just a while ago, my entire desire had been to simply go to Chorrol and study there. Yet I wanted more, needed more, and here I was, standing at the threshold of the home of the most powerful mages in Cyrodiil. It was exciting, yet equally unbelievable. But, I had done the work. Now it was time to claim the reward.

I walked up the steps and approached the door, pulling it back so that I could step inside. The sun outside made the already dark interior even harder to see. It wasn't until I shut the door and blinked a few times before I was able to see what was going on inside. The area wasn't much bigger than your average sized room, with three doors on the opposite wall, and a strange, glowing pad to the side of me. It had a variety of colors that seemed to mix and swirl around. I wondered what it led to.

While I wondered, I was approached by a man who cleared his throat to catch my attention. "Good afternoon, and welcome to the Arcane University. I'm Raminus Polus."

My throat felt dry, like when I spoke to Teekeus for the first time. "Hello. My name is—"

"—I already know who you are. Matthias, correct? I've received the recommendations from the guildhalls that spoke of you. You've done good work. These recommendations have granted you admittance to the Arcane University. Congratulations, Apprentice."

I stood there, dumbfounded at the fact that I had been promoted to the rank of Apprentice. It wasn't until he came back with a carefully folded robe in his hands that I seemed able to shake things off. I took them from him gratefully, bowing a little in the process.

"These are your Apprentice's Robes. Wear them proudly."

"I will."

"Now, Matthias, you have another task waiting for you that you must complete. Every mage granted access to the University must have a mage's staff created. You'll need to go to the Wellspring Cave, not too far east from here, and retrieve some of the wood from there. Once you have done that, return to me and I'll tell you what to do next."

There was no time to rest for the weary, was there? I hadn't even been here for a few minutes, and already I was being told what I needed to do. I didn't mind entirely—it was for my benefit, after all.

"All right. Am I pressed to have this job completed, or may I rest first?"

"You may rest. But, do not dawdle, for this is important if you wish to rise in rank in this guild."

"Understood."

Offering a good bye to Raminus, I turned around and made my way back out of the building, robes in hand. I couldn't wait to tell my father.

It didn't take me long to get back to the Elven Gardens District. I walked with a new sense of pride, of comfort. Things were going very well, and I couldn't wait to tell my father the news. After the disappointment of not having been able to learn so much with him, it was my hope that he would appreciate how much I had learned.

I pulled out my old house key and stuck it into the lock, but was surprised to feel that the door was actually just slightly ajar. Key still in the lock, I pushed the door inward and stepped inside the house. Nothing seemed off, but it was odd for the door to be open like it was.

"Father?" I called out.

I heard no reply at first, and so I decided to check upstairs. He wasn't up there, so that only left the basement. It was with that realization that something began to feel like it was wrong. I didn't know why he would have left the door open like that if he were in the basement…that wasn't like him. When I pulled open the basement door, my nose was met with a very foul odor, like something rotting. That wasn't the smell that I was used to when it came to the basement and, feeling more worried than before, I bounded down the stairs, only to be met with a horrific scene: my father's body—or rather, corpse—was lying on the ground in a distorted looking position, in front of his alchemy table. There was a somewhat dried pool of blood that had spread out around him.

My breath caught in my throat. My father was dead. But what was worse was that my father had been _murdered_. In cold blood, nonetheless, as he hadn't even gotten a chance to go over to the cabinet that held his long sword that he had. I stumbled over to him and kneeled down beside him, reaching out to touch him. It was no use to try and save him—the pool of blood beside him was enough to let me know that he had been this way for at least a few days. He had probably died not too long afterward. I didn't have to wonder where the wound was, because it was staring me straight in the face, right in the middle of his chest: a somewhat thin, but nonetheless bloody hole.

He was stabbed.

I couldn't for the life of me think about what it was that had made a thief think that my father had anything to steal. Every day my father would take the potions that he made to The Gilded Carafe in the Market District, and the money that he got from those, he would place beneath an enchanted square of brick in the wall. Nobody would have been able to catch the enchantment. Not even I had been able to after he told me until he had shown me.

It didn't matter at the moment. I was just so _angry_.

After a profuse amount of cursing and a few angry tears, I finally came to a stop and just sat down in the chair that my dad used to read in. He needed a proper burial. He _deserved_ a proper burial. He deserved to be beside my mother in the Temple District. It took me a minute to get back up again, but when I did I went up the stairs and out the door, and gathered the first guard that I could, telling them what had happened and what I knew. I brought him back to the house with me so that he could see.

Down in the basement, he asked me, "Is anything missing?"

"I don't know," I confessed. "I didn't look."

"I'll call some other guards. In the meantime, check to see if anything was stolen, so that we can keep our eyes open for it."

I watched as the guard walked back up the steps. Once I heard the front door shut I turned to my left, staring at the wall above my father's alchemy table. Sure enough, the brick was still there. I performed the little trick to make its enchantment disappear (a few solid knocks followed by blowing breath on it) so that I could pull out the moneybag from behind it. The bag was larger than I was used to seeing. My absence must have made living somewhat easier for my father when it came to purchasing things, I realized. There was a fair amount of drakes inside, about 3000. He must have been able to reap a larger profit from the last few potions that he had been making. My father had never dabbled in making poisons from what I knew, but when I pulled back and looked at the table, I noticed a few things there that could be mixed to make quite the potent one: Steel-Blue Entoloma Caps, Imp Gall, Harrada and Fennel Seeds. It was a combination like that which actually helped me to reach Expert status in regards to Alchemy. I wondered why my father was making it. He couldn't have possibly anticipated…?

My thought process was interrupted by the sound of the door slamming shut, and the shuffling of feet. Soon thereafter several guards stepped down into my basement. I didn't even notice the phial that was resting beside his alchemy table, lying on its side, but still corked.

"Our condolences," the head guard said while the others worked on carefully lifting up my father.

I looked down at the ground. I needed to leave.

My dream suddenly felt shattered.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: Still don't own anyone but Matthias and...his now dead daddy (poor guy). I know it may have seemed a little rushed that I cut through some of the quests for the Mages Guild, but there are reasons for it, ones that'll show their heads soon enough. Mwaha. Please don't forget to review!

* * *

My path ended up leading me to Bravil. No matter how hard I had tried, I just couldn't seem to bring myself to go back to the Arcane University. Perhaps it was because I felt like I might break down if I did. Perhaps it was because I thought that they wouldn't understand my anger and force me to leave. Whatever the case, I remembered overhearing talk of there being some kind of place to go to "remove one's troubles" in the center of town while I was in Bravil doing the task necessary to get Kud-Ei's recommendation some time ago. It took me a bit of time to find it, but I eventually came to stand outside of it. There was quiet music emanating from within…

I finally worked up the courage to open the door. When I stepped inside, I was met with a wave of an unfamiliar, rather putrid smell. It was the scent of unseemliness, and I could tell that it was coming from the small number of people on the inside. There were two Khajiit, a Nord and a fellow Breton, from the looks of it. And the last was the only female, as well. I knew what I was getting into, but I couldn't seem to stop myself.

Shutting the door behind me, I moved further into the small, somewhat cramped area. None of them made any move to notice me, except for the female Breton. With a small bottle in her had she approached me, and there was a seedy look about her. I felt mildly ill at ease.

When she said nothing, I said, "Is this where one comes to, uh…remove one's troubles?"

She smiled wryly. "Why, yes. What's brought such a handsome Breton like yourself to a place like this? What's your name?"

The compliment made my insides tighten a little. It felt wrong. "Matthias," I told her.

"Well, Matthias. My name's Roxanne Brigette. I help the boys, here…" She glanced over her shoulder at the men in the room, who were all partaking in drinks of what I could only assume was some sort of alcoholic drink. Maybe even Skooma. I heard that gave off of a foul odor. "They get a little squirrelly sometimes. Find it hard to cope. You know."

Even though I hadn't the faintest clue as to what she was talking about, I nodded as if I did. She reached out and grasped my wrist, led me toward one of the tables, and sat me down. Before I knew it I had one of the bottles in my hand.

The last words I remember hearing before everything went blank was "…Sweet with the sugar. _Easy_ street all the way…"

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I awoke what I could only assume to be that following morning. Everything hurt—my back, my neck, my joints…it even felt as if my teeth hurt. Above all was the pounding feeling in my head. Where was I, I wondered? It took me a moment to remember that it was the Skooma Den in Bravil. Not a very smart choice, and one that I knew I would live to regret.

Nearby slept two of the men I remembered seeing the night before. They were curled up on their rolled out beds, bottles of Skooma clenched in their hands. I had one beside my bed as well. I must have finished it the night before, because it looked empty. When I moved to sit up I did so very slowly. I didn't hear anything from the small area below, so I could only figure that no one else was awake. This was good. I needed to get out of this horrible place, away from these horrible people that I had mistaken as solace.

Standing proved to be a bit of a challenge. But thankfully, the throbbing feeling in my head didn't last terribly long, and was replaced by a dull one that only hurt a little bit. I was wearing only my pants and my shirt—somehow my shoes and my Apprentice Robes had been taken off in the middle of the night and placed to the side. Looking at them only made me think of the Arcane University. I had worked so hard to get there, and yet, here I was, throwing things away because of my father's death. He wouldn't have wanted me to do that. If he could see me now…but, hell, I couldn't even remember what I had done the night before.

I shook that thought from my head as quickly as I could, put on the rest of my clothes and took my leave. Those people wouldn't miss me, I was sure, and I knew that I wasn't going to miss them, either. It wasn't very bright outside when I left, or warm, which led me to think that it was early in the morning; the sun hadn't even risen over the walls of the town. Given the feeling in my head, I couldn't figure that light would do my condition any good.

I decided to go to The Lonely Suitor Lodge for a drink that wasn't going to make my head spin. The only real thing that would help get rid of this feeling was likely a potion, but I didn't want to waste the money that I had taken from my father. No, that money, together with that which I had earned on my own, was going to be put towards something else. I just wasn't quite sure what yet.

As I sat in the lodge and nursed my drink, I thought about what I wanted to use the money for. In all, I had about 4500 drakes, which was a considerably large amount for someone my age, especially one who lacked a profession or trade. The best thing would probably be to purchase a house. Even though I already had one, I knew that there was no way that I could even possibly live there…not knowing that my father had been murdered in it.

The best thing to do was probably to sell it. Since it was in the Elven Gardens District, I could probably wield a nice profit from it. Maybe 5000 drakes. Maybe more. Somewhere thereabouts.

Once again I thought about the Arcane University. Even though I was still angry about my father's death, it wasn't as bad as it was the day before. It was more a quiet, underlying anger. I would find a way to avenge my father's death, and that meant finding the man or woman that did it. There were so many things I had to do, but I didn't know where to start. I supposed that going back to the Arcane University and notifying them of my situation was the best place to start. After all, if I was going to be selling my home, then the University's quarters would _become_ my home.

So it was with that in mind that I finished off my drink, paid, dared to wander back out into the rising day and ventured back to the Imperial City.

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Raminus reminded me that, in order to have better access to the University, I needed to get the wood for my staff. There was no other way to do that besides going to the Wellspring Cave, and that ended up being nothing but a gigantic mess. Everything had been fine, up until the point that I actually arrived in the cave, when I found the corpse of Zahrasha, the mage with whom I was supposed to speak. The cave had been overrun with Necromancers, who put up a fight stronger than anything I had faced. I remember being near the end of my life toward the end in the grove, and if it hadn't been for a potion that I had managed to swallow when hiding behind a tree, I would have died. My faithful Dremora had distracted them while I recovered, and afterward, we took them down. I decided to take one of their sets of robes as a souvenir of the battle, as well as several dozens of potions that they had been carrying.

The sad thing was, after I had killed the third or fourth one, it didn't seem to really affect me anymore. In my time with the Mages Guild, I have killed more things than I could have ever possibly imagined. At first it was difficult to deal with. There had been nightmares, plagued thoughts, and regret. But now it almost felt like a necessity, or something that was just supposed to happen. With the Necromancers, I didn't feel quite as guilty. They were doing a horrible thing, after all…

Returning to the Arcane University and speaking with Raminus led me to discussing my staff with Delmar in the Chironasium. It had taken me a while to figure out what I wanted it to be. I had grown scores in regards to my power with Destruction magic, so I figured that something in the school of Illusion would work best. I ended up imbuing my staff with the power of paralysis.

Even though Raminus told me that there were other things I could do in order to rise in rank in the Mages Guild, I decided against doing them. There were seminars on the different schools of magic that I wanted to attend, particularly those relating to Illusion magic.

It was in the middle of one of those about two weeks later that guards interrupted me. They took me out past the gates and into the little garden out in front of the steps. I was nervous.

"We have reason to believe that whoever was after your father may have come from Morrowind."

My nervousness was replaced by confusion. "Morrowind? How did you come to this conclusion?"

It seemed I didn't even have to really ask the question, as one of the guards pulled out a clear phial that contained what looked like a few eggs. I leaned in to look at them, but I couldn't seem to figure out what they were beyond that. I had never been to Morrowind, let alone knew much about it, outside of the Daedric cults and the Tribunal Temple.

"These are Kwama Eggs. Obviously, we do not have Kwama here in Cyrodiil. The nearest place that you can find them is on the island of Vvardenfell, in Morrowind. We assumed these eggs to be your father's at first, something he must have imported for alchemical purposes, but there have been a lot of issues with Morrowind as of late, what with Vivec having gone missing…"

If my father's killer was from Morrowind, then why was this person here in Cyrodiil, I wondered? What was their plan? I furrowed my brow. "Do you know whether or not they've returned to Morrowind, if they _are_ from there?"

"No," replied one of the guards. "But, should that person return to Morrowind, they are beyond our jurisdiction here in Cyrodiil. They would have to be captured by the guards of the legion in Morrowind, and then brought back here."

Somewhere deep inside of me, I could feel my pent-up rage about my father's murder bubbling up. My cheeks turned a little red. "Have you found this person's trail yet? Or is this it?" I couldn't help but let some of my anger turn my tone short.

"This is it," the guard said. He continued, "But we're working on it as hard as we can. We have reason to believe that the person very well may have been a novice thief, who hadn't intended to kill your father."

"Why?" I inquired.

"The stab wound is sloppy, and the tumblers in the lock of your door held remnants of a broken lock pick. This, accompanied with the fact that they left these behind—" he held up the eggs in the phial, "—leads us to believe that they had intended to only break in and steal something, and your father provided some sort of resistance."

"But my father would never have died in such a case!" I replied quickly. "He was completely capable of defending himself. I don't think that this thief was a novice. I think he made it seem that way."

Neither of the guards said anything, instead looking at each other. I only got angrier. I wanted so very badly to do _something_, but I didn't know _what_. Attacking them wouldn't do me any good.

"We're working as hard as we can," the guard repeated. "We have guards from Cheydinhal checking out the Valus Mountains, in the case that the murderer is trying to return to Morrowind."

Having never been as far out as the Valus Mountains, only to Cheydinhal nearby, I had no idea what they were like. I imagined that they had to be rather steep in order to be considered mountains, but if someone could traverse them and slip into Morrowind, then there must have been easier ways to cross the border along the way.

I sighed. There wasn't anything more that _they _could do, I thought. Dismissing them would be best. "Thank you." My tone was final. The guards picked up on it.

"We'll notify you as soon as we receive more information…"

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I waited each and every day for the guards to interrupt my studies and seminars again at the Arcane University with more news on the death of my father. And with each and every day, I became angrier and angrier that I wasn't hearing anything. But I knew that if I were to ask the guards about what was going on, I would be told that they had no more leads, or that they were 'working on it as hard as they could'. The guards had done enough by telling me that the murderer was from Morrowind.

There had to be some way to find them, I thought. There had to be some way to get the damned man or woman and make them pay for what they did.

On top of this, I was dealing with having to sell my home, as well. There were several interested parties due to its location, and each of them wanted to see it at a different time. At the end of Frostfall, I decided that I was going to take time away from the University to show the house to those who wanted to see it. The first was an Altmer couple, both of whom seemed to be quite interested in moving in, and as soon as possible. They even offered a substantially larger amount of money than I was asking for. Old money, I presumed. But, for the case of fairness, I opted to see the other two interested parties: a family of Imperials, and a single female Dark Elf.

In the time that I showed my home to the guests, I stayed in my old room. Before, at least for the most part, I had been sleeping dreamless nights. Being back in my bed and surrounded by memories of the past caused me to have dreams of nightmarish proportions. One was so bad that it awoke me in the middle of the night.

I sat up in my bed, wiping my sweat-drenched brow. Normally I would have gone back to sleep, but shortly after I managed to calm myself down, I heard a very faint, odd sound downstairs. My heart jumped.

There was another thief inside my house.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: Hopefully everyone enjoys this chapter as much as they have the others. This is definitely one of my favorite points in the story. I read this chapter every so often. Mwaha. Still don't own anyone but Matthias, though.

* * *

My immediate response was to reach for my staff. It wasn't until after a few moments of groping around in the dark beside my bed that I realized that I had left it at the Arcane University. I hadn't expected any altercations, however. Being mad at myself for it wasn't going to solve anything. I stayed still for another moment, focusing intently on the sound beneath me. The footfall was light, but not so much that I still couldn't catch it. 

Slowly, I crawled out of my bed and moved into a sneaking position. The door to my room wasn't ajar, so they hadn't yet come upstairs. I snuck over toward my door and pushed it open just enough for me to slip through. And, once I was on the landing, I took advantage of my birth sign's power, allowing me to turn invisible. Not wearing any shoes gave me near silent footfall, and so I stood up, stepping down the stairs and landing on the floor with a quiet thump. There was a very faint, unnatural light coming from around the corner near the entrance to the basement. I recognized it immediately as the spell effect. The thief was smart—the light was probably only bright enough to light the area directly around them…

Because my power wouldn't last very long, I padded across the floor and turned the corner. Sure enough, the door was open and the thief's artificial light was moving around in the basement. They were searching for something, but what?

As I descended the basement steps, I heard the thief's voice, quiet and pressed. "Damn it. What did I do with them? Why can't I remember? Stupid Kwama eggs…where…the Canton…"

I recognized the voice almost immediately. It was the Dark Elf woman that was interested in buying my house, except she was dressed in a skirt and some armor that I didn't recognize. Wasn't a thief smart enough to know not to come back to the scene of the crime? Apparently this one wasn't.

The thief continued to look carefully, but equally frantically, for the eggs. If only she knew that they were with the Imperial guard, I thought to myself. I watched her walk around my father's alchemy table, looking it up and down. "If I had just managed to grab that potion the first time…"

The potion? She couldn't have possibly been referring to the potion that my father hadn't made yet. How would she have known about it?

I didn't have much of a chance to think about it, because I could feel my invisibility begin to fade away. It had already been a minute, and my greater power was once again locked away for another day. Now that I was visible, part of me wanted to rush in and just shock her with a nice, focused spell. But another part of me, the part of me that was keeping me in place, wanted to know why she was here, and what in the world she was trying to accomplish. And most of all, I wanted to know why she had to murder my father in the process.

Everything that happened next happened rather quickly. The thief knelt down beside my father's alchemy table for a moment, picked something up, and then turned around, looking toward the stairs. Before I knew what hit me, my entire body felt tight, powerless; I couldn't keep myself steady on the stairs, and I found myself stumbling down it headfirst. When I hit the ground it was with a loud thump. All I could do was groan in pain.

"What are you doing here?" the woman demanded suddenly. There was no visible weapon in her hand, but I could see the glowing of a faint, green shade of light on it. She must have been an adept student in the school of Illusion—I was under a paralysis spell.

"I live here," I spat back at her. The paralysis spell had only affected my limbs; I had full control over everything above my neck. If only magic didn't require me using my hands, I thought. "This is my home. What are you doing here?"

"That is none of your business. I should have killed you earlier on when I had the chance."

The rage building up inside of me felt so burning hot that I almost yelled. Being paralyzed as I was made me even angrier. The audacity of this woman was enraging. "You had better hope that this paralysis effect doesn't wear off soon," I near barked, "Lest I singe the meat off your bones with a spell that could kill you."

The thief laughed at me. Before I knew it, she was touching my shoulder with her cold, clammy hand. The muscles I could feel beginning to tingle again with life once again felt dead. She had cast another spell on me. "You wish you could, Breton filth. Tell me now why I shouldn't kill you on the spot."

Her spell's effect lasted a much less this time around. My natural resistance to magic as a Breton must have reduced the magnitude of the spell. I waited to respond, pretending as if I were swallowing hard, when really I was just waiting for my body to fully wake up. Just a moment later I was up again, and my hands were out in front of me. "This." She looked as if she was preparing for another spell, and I did the only thing that felt right at the moment: I shot a spell of shock at her. The power of it caused her, along with some of the materials on my father's alchemy table, to fly back against the wall. She hit it with an 'oof!' but was back on her feet before I could even manage to blink.

I had been right. This woman was no ordinary thief.

The two of us stared at one another for a few moments before she finally made a move at me. She unsheathed a weapon just shortly before coming at me, and in the time that I had taken to prepare a paralysis spell to meet her with, she stabbed me right in the stomach with her weapon. I groaned loudly, trying to clench my wound, only to find that my muscles yet again felt as if they couldn't move. As I fell over and hit the ground, I heard the thief telling me in a boastful sort of voice, "You won't find me, Breton! This is the last you'll see of me!"

I could hear my front door closing despite the fact that she had done it quietly. Her third paralysis spell lasted just as long as the second, except this time I had difficulty getting up due to my wound in my bared stomach. I stuck my hand over it and focused on the healing magic that I knew. Moments later the wound was healed, and I was standing straight again.

Staring up the stairs, I said resolutely, "No, this isn't going to be the last time, Dark Elf. I know where you're going. And I'm going to follow you."

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As much as I wanted to, I could not immediately up and follow the damned Dark Elf woman to Morrowind. I had loose ends that I had to tie up here in Cyrodiil, and among those included finalizing the sale of my home and explaining my situation as best that I could to the Arcane University. I ended up selling my home to the Altmer couple, albeit simply because I needed the extra money in my travels. I had a decent amount myself, but I knew that extra, especially since I was traveling to a foreign province, would be considerably helpful. Explaining my situation to the University proved to be much more difficult than I had imagined. As it was, I did not want to tell them that I was pursuing vengeance and family honor, because I knew that the Mages Guild looked down upon lack of self-control and recklessness. While I understood this, it was hard for me to respect it in this case. It was with that in mind that I decided to tell them that I had to take an extended leave, as part of a healing process required for getting over the death of my father. They believed my lie, and with that off of my back, I felt much easier about leaving the province.

I spent the first day of Sun's Dusk asking about ways to get around the Valus Mountains with some of the citizens of Cheydinhal. At times I felt stupid, as I had never left Cyrodiil and had no idea that there were means of getting through. One of the Orcs in the Newlands Lodge told me that there had been a man in the Imperial City, a friend of her friend, who had used to teach Levitation before the Act of 421 that outlawed it. That would have likely been the easiest way across, albeit a slow one, given that my grasp of the school of Alteration still wasn't as advanced as the others.

My answer eventually came from Borba at Borba's Goods and Stores. Because she sometimes did trading with some of the cities from Morrowind, she knew of a valley that was in between the mountains, one through which the wagons of merchandise moved freely. She told me that it was somewhat dangerous and it was probably best to stock up on scrolls, armor and weaponry, but I figured that was her way of attempting to get me to buy something. For her information I purchased a dagger, even though I could bound one if necessary. With that information, I was well on my way.

I had never felt as determined, yet empty as I did when I left Cheydinhal that Middas. Cyrodiil had been my home my entire life, and here I was leaving it, chasing after some Dark Elf whose face haunted my very dreams. I would not forget her face, or her interesting armor. I hoped that it would help me in identifying her when I went to Morrowind. And, even though there was no one to admit it to, I was also a little scared. Though I was capable of a good amount of magic and good protect myself if need be, I was still entering a foreign province, and one predominantly inhabited by the Dunmer. They were somewhat untrustworthy, seedy and prone to violence. How was I supposed to get them to help me find and kill one of their own?

There was no time to think about these things, I told myself. This woman had taken my father's life without any remorse and, what was worse, made it look like he died because of his own folly. I wanted her to suffer for what she did, and I was going to make sure that it happened. I wasn't sure how I was going to find her, but there was no way in Oblivion that I was going to give up without one hell of a fight.

With all of my possessions on me, I began walking away from Cheydinhal and toward the Valus Mountains. While there was no path that led me directly to them I knew that all I needed to do was continue walking forward, and eventually I would come to them. Borba told me that if I were to walk directly to the mountains from Cheydinhal and then follow them southward once I got there, I would eventually come across the valley. For safety while I walked I cast my birth sign's power, enveloping me in a shroud of invisibility. Doing so allowed me to pass by a pack of wolves, a few Imps and a Minotaur along the way. Normally I would have fought these creatures, but there was no time. I had already squandered and wasted it trying to figure out how to get to Morrowind. For all I knew, the stupid woman could have already been deep in one of the cities, hiding away as if nothing had ever happened. She had another thing coming to her.

The cold air of Sun's Dusk was piercing my lungs by the time I got to the mountains. There, I paused to take a small rest and drink a potion to restore my fatigue. I would stop and eat once I got to the valley, because here was unsafe. At least by the road I would have a chance of merchants and traders wandering through. After a few moments' pause I continued on my way, now moving southward with the mountains hugged to my left side. Off in the distance I noticed a large, fat being moving around which I later identified as a Troll. Without hesitation I summoned my Dremora by my side and prepared myself for a battle. Trolls, being particularly resistant to any kind of magic, were always a real challenge. I never backed down from one of them. It turned its stupid self towards me and let out a horrendous growl. Its putrid breath wasn't able to come near me, as I kept my distance, unlike my Dremora. My companion dug its sword deep into the Troll's thick and rough flesh while I pelted it from the back with an intermediate level shock spell. While my Dremora distracted it I moved in and touched it, effectively paralyzing it as I had hoped. I jumped back and it fell flat on the ground with recoil strong enough to make me nearly lose my footing. With it down on the ground for a few moments I took advantage of it and shot a flame spell right into its eyes. The Troll cried out in agony, but it was dead. Moments later, my Dremora companion disappeared back to Oblivion. With my dagger I nicked some of the Troll's fat off, popping it into one of my phials and shoving it into my alchemical bag. Once I swung that back over my shoulders I was on my way again, the mountain still hugging my left side.

After what felt like an eternity of wandering southward, I finally came across the valley. Whereas I was used to the lush, green and relatively pretty countryside of Cyrodiil, this valley didn't seem to have any of that. The ground was an ashen grey color, with rocks of all sizes and shapes littering the pathway, as well as its sides. There were leafless black, seemingly dead trees, or what you could maybe call trees, scattered here and there down it. Everything looked kind of dead, and that worried me. A moment or so later I checked my surroundings to make sure that there were no beasts around me. There weren't even any traders or merchants as I had been expecting, either, which I supposed was all right. I didn't mind eating alone. Sitting down on one of the flatter rocks nearby I pulled my knapsack into my lap and pulled out some grapes, along with some bread and a bottle of Tamika's West Weald Wine. My meal was short-lived, because I had a mission to accomplish, and because I had just eaten not but a few hours previous.

I gathered up my things and slipped my bag once again over my shoulder, feeling the fatigue of my fast pace and the burdening encumbrance of my possessions. Despite myself, I slowed down my pace and walked through the valley. For safety, I stayed on the road, though honestly, I don't know if it would have mattered I which /I place I walked. Everything on this road seemed so desolate, so without hope. I had never thought that the Valus Mountains would be like that, but then again, I had never actually heard much about them. There weren't even any creatures along the road, which was highly surprising to me. It was almost as if the land here was completely barren, void of any life of any kind. A glance up at the sky even made me feel that way—it was the same sort of grey color as the ground beneath it.

How curious, I thought.

I wasn't quite sure how long it was going to take me to traverse the Valus Mountain valley, because I had completely forgotten to ask Borba. She had been kind enough (if you could call it that, really) to sell me one of her maps, however, which would lead me to the nearest city, Narsis. I, of course, had no idea what to expect there, and my anxiety level rose bit by bit the farther across the mountain range I went. I had no idea where the sun was, and felt as if it had almost abandoned me in the valley. It wasn't until I saw the mouth of the other end of the valley, the point that I had been working towards for all this time, that I eventually saw the sun again on the horizon to the west. As I stepped further away from the valley mouth, I looked around me and took in the strange, new and intriguing area that surrounded me.

This was it. I was in Morrowind.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. Classes and everything kind of snuck up on me, and I'm working on another story right now, plus I got back into playing Kingdom Hearts 2. So I've been a little distracted! Oops. I'm glad people are enjoying the story, though. I hope this chapter is just as good! Please don't forget to review :D

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Any and all hesitation that I was feeling in that moment was only due to a sense of slight xenophobia. And the funny thing was, technically, I was the foreigner in _their_ land. I didn't know much about Morrowind, but what I knew of the Dark Elves was of_their_ xenophobia, which leaned more toward the hatred side of the world. In a way, I suppose mine was simply fear—I was in a completely new environment, and there was no one to help me, at least at the moment. Hopefully the people in this city of Narsis were at least somewhat friendly.

Crossing the valley took a bit more out of me than I thought it would. Despite having become more physically conditioned than before, I knew that the immense weight of all that I was carrying was likely what was making me so tired. After all, the weight of a mortar and pestle, alembic, calcinatory and retort weren't very light. But to add onto that food, my staff, all of my clothes, my collection of books and scrolls, and my money…it was no surprise how much more relieved I felt when I stopped to take another small break and put my bag down. It was time like these that I wish I had some sort of companion to keep me company. While my Daedric summons weren't so bad, none of them lasted very long, and they weren't able to keep up a conversation. The last really _good_ conversation that I had was with Raminus before I took my extended hiatus at the Mages Guild. After gathering my things up again and heading back on my way, I found myself taking in more and more of the sights as I walked. Morrowind's landscape was much different than Cyrodiil's, to the point where I did really feel like I was in another region. I don't know what I had been expecting—perhaps a gradual change, one that really didn't get noticeable until the time I arrived at a city, or something of the like. The mountain range really did separate the land to the point of complete difference. Not having been able to travel out of the province all my life had managed to make me feel like a complete and utter idiot when I finally did do it.

Based on the location on the map, I realized that Narsis was further away than I had originally thought it would be. As I was still near the mountains, it looked to be a walk that would take at least an hour or two, if not a little more—it appeared to be about the distance of Cheydinhal from the Imperial City. Given that the landscape was very flat and not nearly as mountainous as that of Cyrodiil, I didn't think there would be much to worry about. Not to mention I had yet to run into any of the local wildlife, about which I knew nothing. For all I knew, a large dragon-like creature could emerge from behind an invisibility spell at any moment. The deeper I ventured into the unknown land, the more I realized I really didn't know much about it. It would have been very smart to study up on the land before stepping into it, but I knew that my anger had blinded me from thinking clearly.

It is not something that I am proud of.

As the sun moved further west, I moved further east toward Narsis. The closer I got to the city, the more I could see of its strange architecture. The buildings were made with this strange red, dirt-like substance that became more noticeable when I finally reached the city limits. I could smell unusual, foreign smells, which I assumed was their food. There were a lot of things I was going to have to get used to here in Morrowind, that much was for sure.

Shifting the weight of my bag over to my other shoulder, I stepped deeper into the city of Narsis, looking around me. The signs hanging outside of what I could only assume to be shops were written using the Daedric alphabet. I didn't know it entirely, but could recognize enough of them to get by. Some merchants in Cyrodiil got their scrolls from Morrowind, and they sold them as they were with the Daedric lettering. They corresponded pretty simply to the Cyrodiilic alphabet, so I wasn't too concerned. What I couldn't pick up on, I could learn through experience, I was sure.

It was now or never, I told myself. One of the signs near me read something of a name that I couldn't recognize, and the word "tavern" in Daedric lettering followed it. I decided to go in there, and when I did, it wasn't surprising that over half of the patrons sitting around were Dark Elves. The general atmosphere wasn't too bad: there was music from somewhere floating through the air, as well as that smell that I picked up on earlier; there was also a nice, ambient light coming from the candles hanging from the ceiling. Despite it being bright outside there was no natural light penetrating the building—there were no windows, anywhere. I found this to be incredibly odd. It was certainly warmer, at least, indoors. That was nice.

I realized that I probably looked very strange as I was, just standing there without moving. I made my way to one of the tables, setting my bag beside me. Sitting here for a while and letting my back rest seemed like a good idea. It gave me time to look at the people in the pub with me. There wasn't much time for me to look, however, as shortly after I sat down, I was approached by a Dark Elf woman. If only it had been the one I was searching for.

"What can I get you?" she asked me. I could tell that by her tone that she didn't particularly care, but she was at least doing her job.

I also realized that I really had no idea what they had for drinks in Morrowind. "What do you have?" I asked.

Without looking at me, the woman recited, "Shein, Mazte, Flin, Sujamma, Cyrodiilic Brandy, water…"

Seeing as Cyrodiilic Brandy was the only thing that I recognized on that list other than water, I went for that. She said she would return shortly. So, while I waited, I went back to people watching. There were so many conversations going on that I had a hard time picking one out to listen to, but the one closest to me between two Dark Elves was both the easiest and seemingly the most interesting.

"I was planning on heading to Vvardenfell sometime this week using one of the boat rides on the coastline. Trade on the mainland isn't so bad, but it's difficult to travel from here to, say, Blacklight, and manage to keep everything intact. At least there, you can travel from Balmora to Caldera, or to Ald'Ruhn with little to no issues…except for those damned Cliff Racers…"

"I should probably go, as well. I need to visit Vivec for some things, but I just haven't wanted to leave Narsis. With Vivec missing, I heard the city was in disarray and there was random looting going on everywhere."

"I doubt that. They likely are just trying to find him…unless it really is true, and the Nerevarine killed him. Though that, I also doubt."

About this time, the woman came back with my drink. I handed her some money, as she wanted it on the spot apparently, and, pouring my drink, I decided to listen in on another conversation not too far away.

"…There's been an issue with my friend in Caldera, Nedhelas. He says his house is haunted in his letters, and he's looking for someone to get rid of the ghost, but no one seems to want to do it. It's really rather odd. I thought about it, but I'm absolutely horrible with ghosts. Scare the living daylights out of me."

"You mean he can't hire someone? What about the Mages Guild?"

"No, he refuses to hire someone from there. Says they're too snooty and expensive…"

I wasn't sure what I was expecting to hear from the conversations I listened in on. I half expected to hear someone mention the Dunmer woman that I was looking for. The likeliness of that happening, however, was very slim, if anything. I had basically given her two days to escape. But from the sound of it, most of the townsfolk here were familiar with the large island of Vvardenfell. That wasn't entirely unexpected—there was a larger concentration of people there, from what I remembered, than on the mainland. Except for perhaps in Mournhold, the capital city of the province.

For a few more minutes I saw there, sipping my drink. Nothing of real interest was happening, and a part of me felt anxious that I was wasting time. Right when I was about to pour another bit of the brandy into my cup, I heard something familiar not too far away.

"…damned Kwama egg mining is what drove me away from that island in the first place…"

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Why hadn't I remembered the guards talking about Vvardenfell when they mentioned the Kwama eggs? Why hadn't the previous conversation of Vvardenfell caught my attention as much as this had? Vvardenfell was the most logical place to go. On the island, there were likely all kinds of cities to hide in, unlike the few that were scattered across the mainland. I felt stupid for once again letting my anger blind me from things that should have been obvious. The question now was where would I start looking once I got there?

I figured that I would deal with it once I got there.

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The boat ride to Vvardenfell was, to say the least, a nightmare. I was overcharged because of the fact that I had extra weight on me, although I assume it was simply because I wasn't a Dark Elf. I was the only one at the time to be on the boat with the one steering it, and every time I tried to make some sort of conversation, just to pass the time, I was told to be quiet, because I was being far too distracting. Eventually I gave up, but by the time I had gotten to that point, we were almost already there.

While on the water I saw some interesting fish beneath us, and I was tempted to try and catch one once we docked, but I decided against it. We pulled up beside this long stretch of land with strange flora that was disturbing at first. I got as far away from the boat as I could, and found myself soon staring up at a very large, floating building made out of a material that clearly wasn't stone. It must have been one of the cantons.

This was where my search was going to start. The fact that I didn't know quite where I was going to stay hit me rather abruptly when I crossed the bridge and stepped onto the canton. Part of me expected it to break beneath me and drop me in the water, though I wasn't sure why. Once I was sure of my footing, I wandered to the left and made my way around the corner, eventually walking up a long, steep walkway. There was a door there, marked surprisingly in lettering I could understand. This was the Foreign Quarter. I had hoped it was. The boatman hadn't been very kind in responding to my question before, but there was no need for him now.

Even though my first desire when I walked into the Waistworks was to ask if someone had seen a Dunmer woman in a skirt and a strange set of armor, I knew that I couldn't. If I wanted to blend in and seem like I knew what I was doing here, then I needed to get to know my surroundings and get to know them well. Unfortunately, that meant that I needed to delay my search for the thief for just a little while longer. But, if she was at least here in Vvardenfell, I knew that I could find her. My determination was what was going to make this happen. She would regret the day that she crossed Matthias Etanne.

Being inside the Foreign Quarter Waistworks was similar to being in the tavern, in that there were no windows again, and the entire place relied on ambient light from surrounding candles, lanterns and torches. I didn't understand why they did this in Morrowind, but I didn't have much time to think about it, because there were two Dunmer beside me talking, and their conversation caught my ear rather quickly.

"…And they say that this person killed_ two_ Ordinators in the Hlaalu canton without them even being able to draw their _weapons_, of all things…"

A shocked gasp. "You're kidding. Just last week there was that killing that happened right here, with the mage who actually was able to put up a fight, they say. Those guards make it, what, the seventh murder? This is becoming highly worrisome. I don't mean to sound like a gossip, but I wonder why neither the Redoran nor the Telvanni cantons suffered casualties? There have been _three _here in the Foreign Quarter, and three in the Hlaalu compound…"

"You know the Telvanni are all about stealth, though. Especially since they're more into using magic…someone would have to be stupid to attack the St. Olms or the St. Delyn cantons. Well, at least the Waistworks or the plaza…the homes of the merchants on the ground level, however…"

There was no way that the person they were talking about could have been the woman I was looking for, but the connection was entirely too eerie not to believe. The fact that she had managed to kill two of these Ordinators without them even being able to draw their weapons reminded me of the weapon that she had used on me. Not to mention that they were talking about the culprit using magic. It was fitting in together all too well. I needed to investigate this, but I had absolutely no idea where in the world I could go in order to do it. From the sound of it, the best place to go was the St. Olms compound. With my Alchemical apparatuses, I could easily pass as a budding alchemist who was looking to start a store or something of the like. Hopefully there would be somewhere free…


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: We're coming close to an end with this story! Only one chapter after this one. Don't forget to review :D

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I spent majority of the rest of the day getting as familiar with Vivec as I could. I wandered through the Foreign Quarter, speaking with some of the people from there, as well as the Redoran compound and the Hlaalu one as well. I was hesitant to enter the Telvanni one after what I had heard from the two Dark Elves, and figured that going there would be best saved for later. When night came I returned to the Foreign Quarter in search of a bed for the night, finding one in the Black Shalk Cornerclub. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very much. The cornerclub room was on the bottom floor, but it was the only one there, and patrons were in and out of the place all night, on both floors. On top of that I felt a sense of anxiousness being in Morrowind and knowing that the thief that I was looking for was likely here. It disturbed me that she was so notorious here, and it would explain why she came to Cyrodiil. If I hadn't caught her, she likely would have stayed there. It was likely that she was waiting for the hype of what she had done to die down a little before she returned… 

Sometime in the middle of the night I finally fell asleep, and woke up not too long afterward. I didn't feel rested in the slightest, but thankfully, I was still functional. Now that it was daytime again I was sure that I could go to the St. Olms canton and try to get into one of the low-cost housing rooms. If they were low cost, it was likely that they weren't really high quality—but unless I was willing to pay the price, there really was no room for me to complain. My budget was fixed and that was all there was to it.

In total, there were three houses on both the north and the south sides of the St. Olms compound. There was only one that was free, and it had "For interested parties, please see Adrusu Rothrano in the Canon Office: Hall of Wisdom, Temple Compound" written on a slightly worn note on the front door. I tried opening the door but it was locked. There was always trying to open using magic, but I knew that my skills in Alteration probably weren't good enough. I gave it a try anyways, waving my fingers over the knob of the door. It jiggled and glowed a faint shade of purple, except I heard no tumblers clicking appropriately. As I had suspected, it was beyond my ability.

Just so no other interested individuals could go visit, I took the note off of the door and pocketed it in my robes. I still had all of my things on me, and was getting tired of carrying them all over the place. By the time I got to the Temple compound I was itching to drop them on the ground, but soon enough I would hopefully have a place to keep them.

The moment I stepped into the Canon Office, I took notice of the fact that there was an Ordinator standing right beside one of the other doors, not too far away. This was the closest that I had ever been to one, and with that strange armor he was wearing, I couldn't help but be just slightly nervous. It was impossible to see their eyes through their helmet, and it appeared as if the guard was looking right at me. It made me miss the Imperial guards for just a moment.

Adrusu's voice caught my attention from the guard. "Can I help you?"

"Oh! Yes, um, I was…" I fumbled for the note in my robe pocket, "I was interested in the one of the low-cost housing—"

"—St. Olms or St. Delyn? Are you a member of the Temple?"

It was surprising to be as quickly cut off as I was. I blinked. "I'm not a member of the temple, no, but—"

"A merchant, then?"

This was getting somewhat annoying. "Yes. Just starting out."

"Should be perfect for you, then." Adrusu turned around and made her way over to her desk, where she moved around some papers. She came back a moment later with a long, unrolled scroll. "Because these rooms are owned by the Temple, you cannot purchase them. As it's low-cost housing, it will only cost you a total of two hundred septims a month. In return, you must prove that you are working toward making money. Otherwise, we reserve the right to remove you from the room. You can read it all here." She extended the scroll to me, which I took and glanced over.

"Understandable terms. Do you have a quill that I can sign this with?"

"Yes, over here on the desk."

I walked over to the desk and placed the scroll on it. This gave me a few more moments to read it over. There were to be no modifications in the room, which was fine. Like she said, two hundred septims a month. I could pay that just fine. I was free to cancel the renting at any time. There weren't many other things of notable interest, and so I signed my name on the bottom of the scroll, rolling it back up and extending it to Adrusu, who took it into her hands.

"Let me get you your key."

Going to a nearby cupboard, Adrusu reached inside and pulled out a small key on a chain, then handed it to me. "This is the only key to the room. Do not let it be copied or stolen, because we at the Temple will not replace it, and we will not be held responsible for stolen items."

I nodded.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, or was this it?"

"This was it."

"Then good afternoon to you. I have other business to attend to. Come back tomorrow to retrieve your copy of the contract."

Despite the fact that her words were short, Adrusu's tone was not. I knew that she was simply a busy woman. As she worked for the offices of the canon, I imagined that she wouldn't be anything else.

Finally, I thought. I had a place to stay now, a place to call my own here. It wouldn't be for very long, since I didn't plan on staying in Morrowind any longer than it would require to avenge my father's death. And if I did, it wouldn't be in an area that I was renting.

With key in hand I returned to the St Olms canton, to my room. The door unlocked with a little bit of difficulty, and when I shut it behind me, I noticed that it was sticking some. It made me wonder how well they took care of it. There weren't any strange smells, but like before, there was no natural light. One would think that the Dunmer would be lighter skinned, based on the fact that they didn't like natural light all that much…

While the room wasn't large, it wasn't small, either. It had a raised area in the corner of the room where the bed was, and directly in front of me sat the table and a few chairs. There was a surprisingly large cupboard to the right of the table that I was eager to use for my alchemical ingredients. The flora and fauna of Morrowind were entirely different, as was to be expected. Mixing them with those of Cyrodiil was bound to make some interesting potions. That, however, was second on my list of things to do. With a "base of operations" of sorts, now, I would be able to better investigate things.

Now, to go and figure out more information on this mysterious killer…

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The next day, I was told to speak with Elam Andas in the Office of the Watch in the Hall of Justice. Having mistaken the Hall of Justice as the Hall of Wisdom at first, I knew where I needed to go. He confirmed everything that I had overheard before, and he told me to go and check with the places where the individuals were murdered to find out more information. Nothing abnormal had happened to my knowledge, and so I went back to the Foreign Quarter to ask around. One of the Dark Elves from the day before, one of the ones I had heard about the killer from, told me about a scene that had taken place in the Foreign Quarter not too long ago. It seemed there was a Dunmer woman—wearing the exact same outfit as I had seen the thief wearing—who had threatened her friend before disappearing. They believe her to have gone into the underworks, but nobody was brave enough to go down there and find her.

That person was going to be me.

Without all of my alchemy apparatuses and other items to weigh me down, I was free to move in ways that I hadn't been able to do in a while. I still had a few potions on me, as well as the dagger that I had purchased from Borba in Cheydinhal, but they weighed next to nothing. They didn't even make any noise as I descended the ladder into the underworks. I could hear the sound of the water running through, loud enough to make it hard to take notice of things. When my feet touched the floor I looked around me. The place was much bigger than I had thought it to be. Where was she going to be hiding?

I didn't have much time to think about it, however, because not too far off in the distance I saw a rat skittering across the floor toward me. Before it got too close, I cast a Firebloom spell at it; the glow from the fireball lit up the floor as it moved. Upon being hit the rat stopped moving, let out a shrill sound, and then fell over. It was charred. The sound of the water's flow hid the sound of the spell quite nicely, I thought—if she were nearby, there was no way that she could have heard it. What was she doing down here, anyways, in the underworks, of all places? It didn't make any sense to me. Then again, nothing about this woman made sense to me. All she did was anger me, make me want to watch her suffer and die a painful death. I was not a violent man by nature, but everything about this thief was enough to make me want to change all of that.

The area was clear of anyone being nearby. Just to be on the safe side, I cast my birth sign's greater power again and became invisible. This allowed me to move much faster through the underworks, as well as cover more ground. I moved what I thought to be all around the underworks, but to no avail—I couldn't seem to find her. My greater power eventually wore off, and I found myself standing in a place eerily similar to that from which I had come. To top it all off, I was feeling fatigued and irritated, but above all, frustrated. I wanted to yell at her, tell her to come out and fight, but I had a feeling that wouldn't work. She fought smart, using spells that disabled.

It was much to my horror that she did that just again. I felt something hit me, though I wasn't sure what. There didn't seem to be any visible effect on me. I turned around nonetheless, to see what was behind me. There she stood, dagger in hand and a look on her face that made me want to run at her and stab her in the chest.

"Coward," I spat at her. I held up my hand, trying to summon my Dremora to my side, but found that I couldn't. There was no shift in my magicka reserves that I could feel. "You silenced me!"

"Disabling the enemy is always priority number one," she said, approaching me. I backed up. "Of all the people to come and find me, I hadn't expected you." There was a somewhat confused look on her face. "How did you manage to follow me all the way back here?"

"I was on top of the stairs longer than you must have thought. I heard all kinds of things from you." Telling her that the guards from Cyrodiil had helped my investigation some was the farthest thing from my mind at that moment. I needed to ride out the effects of this silencing spell so that I could cast spells again. I was considerably helpless until then…and every time she stepped closer to me I backed up. It was like a dance. "Did you find what you wanted there, you pitiful thief?"

Despite the momentary look of confusion that only grew, the woman's face contorted into an expression of sheer cockiness. "Oh yes, yes I did. The use of poisons here in Morrowind is strictly forbidden, unlike in Cyrodiil, you see. I needed something for my delightfully enchanted blade that would help me to defeat even the strongest of foes…I had overheard talk of a Breton potioneer who lived in the Elven Gardens District when I was in the Imperial City—other business—and who was selling potions and poisons that were pretty top notch. So, I wanted to get them directly from the source. But that man, he was there, and—"

Before she could continue I interrupted with a loud growl, "Don't you call him _that man_, you beast. That was my father, and you murdered him in cold blood. And for that, you're going to pay."

The thief laughed. "You're a mage, stupid Breton. How are you going to harm me if you can't cast any of your precious _spells_?"

What came over me next I couldn't explain. My hands were out in front of me quicker than I could think about it, and soon I was expelling a freezing bolt so cold that she screamed in pain, the bolt knocking her over and making her slide across the underworks floor several meters. It had been a safe bet to make about the silencing spell wearing off. The thief stood up quickly and let out an enraged yell, casting a fire blast at me that I was able to dodge by jumping to the side. The idea of using paralyzing magic was beyond the moment—this was going to be a fair fight, and the best one would be left standing.

"You're going to regret this! N'wah!" she yelled at me.

I felt something electrified in the air and before I knew it, I was being hit with her spell. The force of it knocked me right off my feet. While I was down I thought of summoning my Dremora to help, only to decide that he would be a last resort move. If I couldn't kill her, then he surely could.

Jumping back up to my feet I cast a healing spell to fix the damage that the shock had done to my system. From my other hand I shot an intertwined blast of fire and ice, which I realized wasn't the smartest move after I had done it. Damned Dunmer resistance to fire.

When the spell hit her she froze in place for a moment. Seconds later she was laughing, "Idiot!"

Dodging another one of her attacks, I shot a barrage of shock waves right at her face. One of the several managed to hit her, and she went flying into the canal head first with a loud splash. Now was my chance to get her, and get her for good. I ran over to the edge of the water, peering over the canal for her. She surfaced a moment later and had her dagger held high above her head. I was too busy preparing a large blast to notice that she was getting ready to throw it right at me.

"Die, fetcher!"

Our attacks were launched simultaneously. While my lightning bolt spell hit both her and the water that surrounded her, causing her to shriek in pain and seizure near uncontrollably, I found myself being hit with her dagger square in my left shoulder. Like before, her damned dagger immobilized me, and my body fell to the ground in a pile of paralyzed muscle. I felt the pain coursing through my veins, the searing hot burning sensation around the wound, but there was nothing I could do about it until the enchantment of her blade wore off entirely—it was still lodged in my shoulder, and it was doing more damage than I thought it possible. It was then that I realized that she had used my father's poison on the blade. That was going to do much more long-lasting damage.

Even though I was paralyzed, I could still hear just fine. I feared that she was going to come back up from the water and finish me off, so I listened intently for movements in the water, for her footsteps. When no such thing came to pass, it hit me that she wasn't _going_to be coming back.

She was _dead_. My mission was accomplished. I had avenged my father. At this rate, however, it was very possible that I would be, too. I didn't know quite what my fate would be. All I could feel was the heaviness of my eyelids becoming more and more with each passing moment, until I finally gave in and closed them, fatigue overtaking me.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: Last chapter! Significantly shorter than the rest, but only because I didn't want to prattle on for pages and pages with useless stuff. I thought it would be better to be concise and to the point. Thanks for everyone who read, reviewed and liked! I appreciate it. I hope you like this chapter as much as the rest!

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When I awoke, I was surprised that I had at all. I didn't open my eyes right away, nor did I move my body. It was in complete pain, that much was obvious. But if I wanted to get anything done, it would need to be done. Slowly, and with a rather loud curse, I moved to sit up. The dagger was still in my shoulder. How long was I out for, I wondered? It couldn't have been very long—everything seemed to be in exactly the same spot, and there were no rats nearby, and there wasn't much blood staining my robes or the floor of the underworks.

Removing the dagger from my shoulder hurt like hell. Some blood poured out of the wound once it was free of it, staining my robe even worse. At this rate, I thought, I was going to have to throw it away. I focused as intently as I could on casting a healing spell. It took a couple of them before I could actually move without there being a new wave of pain coursing through my body. What was weird was the sudden fatigue I felt in my magicka reserves. I could normally cast that spell several times with no concern about not having enough, but it felt as if I had depleted my entire power by only casting it those few times. What was worse, it felt like I hadn't completely healed the wound. What was going on?

It hit me suddenly—my father's poison. The four ingredients combined caused a long-lasting damaging effect to my health and my magicka, not to mention a small duration of fire damage and paralysis. The only way to get this completely cured was to go to a temple and pray to be cured. I had never _been_ to a temple here. I hadn't even been here long enough to figure out what it was I needed, if anything, to pray at the temples. The good news was that I was still in Vivec, which meant that I wasn't far from a temple.

After weighing the damage done to me, I stood very carefully. My wound wasn't bleeding anymore but it was still _open_, which meant that climbing the ladder was going to be very difficult. Once I was up, though, I was able to see the thief's body floating in the water not too far away from me. There was a surreal feeling to the entire thing that made me think I was simply dreaming, or was under the influence of Skooma, or something of the like. It felt as if it couldn't be real. But yet, there she was, floating on her back in the water. My father's killer was dead. The killer of the seven innocent people in Vivec was dead. I hadn't felt this sort of pride since helping the Anvil Mages Guild back in Cyrodiil with the merchants on the Gold Road.

I kneeled down to pick up her dagger. The enchantment had worn off, so it would need to be recharged. It would be my spoil, along with knowing that I had made her suffer just like I wanted to. Placing the blade in my bag, I moved toward the ladder that led back up to the canalworks. By the time I had finished climbing it I had made the wound bleed again, and so I had to heal myself. The good news was that I was at least capable of walking, which meant that, maybe if I went to Elam Andas in the Office of the Watch, he could help me with the temple.

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"You've done Vivec an amazing favor," Elam told me, patting me on the shoulder. I winced, and he chuckled in response. "Oh, sorry about that…" A pause. "Now, about your reward."

I had completely forgotten the mention of a reward when he told me about what the deed was. Killing her had really been enough. "Reward?"

"Yes. For your courageous efforts, I can offer you either an Indoril Cuirass and Helm, or you can take this enchanted belt, the Belt of the Armor of God." Elam gestured to the table nearby us which had all of the armor laid out. The belt had an enchanted glow to it that brought a smile to my face.

"I'll take the belt." When he handed it to me, I slipped it around my waist. It tied my robes a little tighter, which hurt my wound. I winced again. "I need to get to a temple to heal this…my ability to heal to full capacity was damaged, as was my magicka. The temple, what do I have to give it—"

"—Oh, you needn't worry much about that! Here, all you have to do is pray in the High Fane and give one of the pillars a donation for the temple, and you'll be cured of what ails you. It's instantaneous." Elam scratched at his chin. "In fact, once you walk out of here, just go down the stairs and take a left, then walk all the way down the hall and go through there to the temple. It's very easy."

I nodded. That did sound very easy, and I was thankful for that. "Thank you," I told him.

"No, thank _you_. Should there be any situation like this again, I'll be sure to ask you. You live here in Vivec, correct?"

"In one of the St. Olms housing units, yes." I didn't tell him that I wasn't planning on staying there.

"You're a curious man, do you know? With what you've told me, you have what it takes to join the Mages Guild here, in the Foreign Quarter plaza. Doing so would get you not only a place to stay, but guaranteed food, too. You'll need it to get back to optimum shape."

"Join the Mages Guild?" I repeated quietly, rhetorically. Given that I hadn't planned on staying in Morrowind, in Vvardenfell nonetheless, the idea of joining the Mages Guild here was sort of weird. At the same time, however, I didn't turn it away completely.

Elam cleared his throat. "Just something to think about. But, keep me notified so that I know where to send any requests for assistance."

I nodded once again. "Not a problem." Since there was an uncomfortable silence growing that clearly meant the conversation was over, I thanked Elam once again for the belt, turned around, and then stepped out of the room. I followed his directions to the temple, and once I arrived, part of me felt out of place. Before, in Cyrodiil, I had never actually been afflicted with anything that couldn't be cured by a potion. Going to chapels had become pointless. Here, though, in a world that I didn't know and with ingredients that I was unfamiliar with, making a potion might have just made it worse. Thankfully, by doing exactly what Elam said, I was able to cure myself of the damage done to my health and magicka, and I felt much better. My wound was still there but it hurt no more than a light bruise would.

On my way back to my room, I pondered all of the things that had happened in the past week. I hadn't been in Morrowind very long at all, and I had managed to do exactly what I accomplished. To think that a few weeks ago, I was completely discouraged about whether or not I would be able to catch this thief and make her pay…was actually somewhat unbelievable. Then again, the fact that this had all happened so quickly was just as unbelievable, if not more so. If only there were someone to tell of what happened, someone to share my accomplishment with. But, no, I was here in Vvardenfell alone, aside from the friend that I had made in Elam Andas, and he already knew what had happened.

Maybe joining the Mages Guild wouldn't be such a bad idea. Were I to return to Cyrodiil, I would just go back to the Arcane University and continue my studies of magic. Since I had paid for a month of staying in the unit in the St. Olms canton, it would be a waste, I thought, if I didn't utilize it to its fullest. In that month, I figured that it would be a good idea to test out the Mages Guild here. It was a foreign province, after all…there were bound to be spells and enchantments here that didn't exist in Cyrodiil. I wouldn't be a true student of magic if I didn't take advantage of that. And if it proved to be too much, or even not enough, then there was always the option of returning home. Or…whatever I could call home back in Cyrodiil, as I was now alone and had no one, really, to turn to in terms of family.

But I had had enough action for the day. When I arrived at my new home, I slipped inside, removed my robes and crawled into my bed. It had been a while since I had gotten a comfortable, decent night's sleep, and now, with the worry of the thief off of my mind, I knew that I would finally be able to get it.


End file.
